#n marshall n betty but *waves hand*

[pcktknife]

IQ

[parkersharthook]

Love For All

Peter Stark-Rogers & Stark-Rogers!reader (twins)

warnings: mentions of drinking/being drunk, pretty fluffy

1.8k+ words

series masterlist

a/n: happy pride month (lol I queued this in february just so I didn’t forget to post it) anyways im bi and pls know my page is a safe space for everyone 💗💜💙

Fluffy piece where Tony and Steve are chosen as the grand marshalls for the pride parade and it becomes a family affair.

“this just in, you all officially have the coolest dads in history!” Tony bellowed as he dramatically entered the common space, Steve right behind him with a plethora of eye rolls.

Right as you were about to protest, Bucky chimed in, “neither of you are my father.”

“with the way I’ve saved your sorry ass? Might as well be.”

“saved my sorry ass? Oh Stevie, have you forgotten who pulled your ass out of every back alley fight you got into? Or have the years 1932 to 1941.”

“I did not start a fight in 1932!” Steve argued back, hands placed firmly on his hips.

“bullshit! 5 years old, playground 2 blocks over, Arthur Williams.”

Steve frowned slightly, “damn I forgot about that.”

Beside you Peter snorted, “you got into a fight when you were 5?”

“Wow darling, you came out of the womb with righteous indignation didn’t you?” Tony added with a small smirk as he moved to rest against the back of the couch.

Steve threw his hands up in defeat, “oh haha laugh it up. Yes I’m old, yes I’m stubborn. Can we please just go back to how we’re cool?”

“Wait before that, back to the ‘not my fathers thing’ does this mean you see yourselves as the team fathers? Because if you’re adopting more people, I want in!” Clint said cheerfully.

“Sorry we capped out at four.”

You stuck your tongue out at Clint with a little ‘ha ha’ because you were mature like that. “anyways… why do you think you are the coolest dads? I wanna get my rebuttal in soon.”

Tony bopped the back of your head playfully as he dropped a very rainbow piece of paper into your lap. Peter instantly leaned into your space to read it. You pushed him back with a shove to the forehead. “relax nerd I’m gonna read it out loud.”

“hurry up I’m getting antsy.” You threw an unimpressed look at Clint who had practically crawled into Bucky’s lap to get closer, not that Bucky minded.

“Chill.” You smoothed out the paper and held it up, “All hail the next Grand Marshals of NYC Pride, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. We are happy to formally announce the two superheroes and super husbands as our fearless leaders of the float parade this year.”

“That’s the public announcement they put out, turn it over to read the letter they sent us.”

“Dear Mr. Anthony and Steven Stark-Rogers, we are so excited to welcome you into our NYC Pride Parade family. As this year’s appointed Grand Marshals it is both our duty and pleasure to pass the Pride Baton over to you. Included in this letter you will find the rules and expectations of our Grand Marshals, as well as what is permitted for first floats. We would love if you extended this invitation to your entire circle of family and friends to join you in the parade and on your float.”

You put the paper down and tilted your head back to stare at your dad, “you? Grand Marshal? Really?”

“What’s so shocking about that?”

“umm…. You’re old and not cool.”

Bucky sputtered a laugh beside you as Tony bopped you on the head again.

“Was this your way of telling us to come to pride with you?” Peter asked.

Steve shook his head as he flopped into a nearby loveseat, “actually this was our way of telling you that we need your help coming up with ideas for the float and how to decorate it. But of course we want you to join us on the float, we’ll be inviting the rest of the team as well.”

“I’ll help decorate but Bi-derman is making another appearance this year.”

Tony slapped his forehead, “can you take your old suit at least? The paint was a bitch to get off last time.”

Peter rolled his eyes, “the old suit chafes.”

You grimaced, “I hate this conversation.”

“I think you should do a dog themed float, Lucky can be our mascot.”

Bucky sighed, “of course that’s your suggestion.”

“what about the history of pride? Recognizing the Stonewall Riots and the two black transgender females that started it all. Plus then we can also advocate for Black Lives Matter. Make it clear that to support one, you have to support the other. Educate and entertain.”

Tony smiled, “that’s not a bad idea y/n.”

Steve looked at you with hopeful eyes, “are you willing to help organize and coordinate?”

“can I invite friends to help?”

“yes.”

You smiled, “then yes.”

------

“when I said organize and coordinate, I didn’t mean take over the conference room we use regularly for avengers meetings.” Steve said with a deep sigh

“it’s the only one with a vending machine.” MJ helpfully pointed out, taking another large bite of her pizza slice.

“yeah it was the only way to get Clint to sit through meetings without leaving to get food.” Steve explained as he stepped into the room and took in the large array of papers everywhere. The four teenage girls that occupied the room were all busy with one thing or another, looking intense and determined.

MJ snorted, “figures.” Her hand ghosted over the page again, dragging the pencil with it and creating another addition to her sketch.

Steve’s brow furrowed for a moment and he took a step closer to get a better look, “is that me?”

MJ nodded coolly but offered no other explanation. Betty huffed a laugh, “we’re trying to design both you and Mr. Stark crown-like head pieces.”

“crowns?”

You rolled your eyes, “Pops, you really do only hear what you wanna hear. Crown-like head pieces. I know dad would go for a full ass crown but I knew you wouldn’t and we want you two to match.”

Steve studied the photos of celebrities that were projected on the wall. “and that?”

“The 2018 Met Gala. Theme: heavenly bodies. There were a bunch of great head pieces that night, we’re using it for inspiration.” Gwen supplied, “let us know if there’s any you like.”

“I wanna go in a Cardi B direction.” You stated without taking your eyes off your computer screen, you’ve obviously already committed every possible headpiece to memory.

“don’t taint his selection with bias!” Betty cried

MJ waved her off easily, “there’s no way he knows who Cardi B is.”

“thanks for the confidence MJ.” She just smiled cheekily at him.

“I think he should choose something like what Frances McDormand was wearing.” Gwen stated with a small smile

MJ laughed, “as much as I think that would look amazing, there’s no way he’s picking that.”

“who’s this?”

You barely had to glance at the photo to recognize the red and gold dress and of course the iconic headpiece, “Black Lively.”

“Okay well I like that, it’s simple.”

“what about…” Gwen drawled as she typed something and new photo, a larger one, took over the whole wall, “Something like SZA’s?”

Steve took a step back and grimaced slightly, “it’s kinda… big.”

“But if it were smaller?” Gwen pressed politely

“I suppose.” Steve glanced around at the four girls. “You guys have a lot of stuff planned.”

“Oh yeah.” You looked up with a big grin, meeting your dad’s eye. “It’s gonna be great.”

“You’re not designing us costumes too are you?”

“Well Tony specifically said not too and that he already had something planned.” MJ said before eyeing Steve up and down with the critical eye of an artist, “But we could design something if you wanted us too.”

“No, I kinda of already have a plan too.”

You rose a questioning brow, “oh yeah? Please tell me you’re not going to be wearing something boring.”

Steve rolled his eyes at you and obnoxiously bumped his hip into your side as he walked out, “I’m not clueless on how to dress for Pride. Plus, I like dressing up for it, it’s fun. And it’s not something we got to do back then. I’m planning on taking full advantage.” And with that he walked out dramatically and closed the door.

Betty laughed slightly, “ten bucks that he paints the shield.”

Gwen shook his head, “No way. I think he’s gonna wear one of the flags as a cape.”

MJ clicked her tongue, “I know for a fact he’ll be wearing his ‘trans rights are human rights’ shirt.” Pause. “and probably his rainbow pants.”

You looked at MJ with a perplexed expression, “why do you know about my dad’s rainbow pants?”

MJ smirked slightly, “he wore them to pride a few years ago. Plus, me and peter talk about things. You’re not the only Stark-Rogers twin I hang out with.”

Gwen obnoxiously nudged Betty with her elbow and a large wink, “Oh yeah… she talks to Peter.” MJ scowled at the two as you snickered behind your hand.

MJ grumbled slightly, “let’s just get back to work.” It was silent in the room until the three other girls heard MJ mumble, “I never have to deal with this at college.”

You burst into a fit of laughter.

------

Pride was without a doubt a 100% success.

The float looked great. The area had already been swept for trouble. One Grand Marshal was moderately drunk. And Everyone was dancing and partying. Perfect.

Even the float attendees looked great. Clint was the brightest of the all. With no shirt on, glitter all over his chest, a rainbow tutu around his hips, tight purple booty shorts underneath, knee high socks with the pan pride flag on them, plus his signature purple converse… he looked good.

You’ve been snickering every time you catch Bucky not so subtlety looking Clint up and down. But that being said, Clint was doing the same to Bucky because he had someone managed to get the stoic and whiney super soldier into a rainbow button down. Nothing else, as that wasn’t Bucky’s jam. He paired the shirt with simple jeans but you were sure that he would be covered with glitter later.

Peter had been swinging around the parade, his first Stark suit now painted a vibrant pink, purple, and blue. Plus there was a large, messily painted on heart over where the spider sat in the middle of his chest.

You and all your friends had taken up the dance floor on the float, and if you said so yourself, you all were killing the dance moves.

Tony was more than tipsy because Bruce was on babysitting duty tonight for Morgan, so he let himself go and lean heavily against his husband, who just grinned at him all lovingly.

In the end, it was a good day. You threw beads and candy to the crowd, joining them at times for drinks and dance parties. You laughed endlessly with your friends and your family. And yeah… it was a good day.

Plus, all your friends had been correct.

Steve wore his trans shirt in solidarity with the ongoing movements and the float.

He wore his rainbow pants because they were “super fashionable y/n” and to support everyone.

He painted his shield purple, blue, and pink to show off his own sexuality and support Peter.

And he had a pansexual flag tied around his neck to match with Tony’s pink, yellow, and blue shirt.

He looked great.

[imaginesforjohnnydepp]

On Stranger Tides Press Tour: The Ellen Show (Johnny Depp x reader)

for @villianelllelover @takemepedropascal

Your hair and makeup artists flitted around you and Johnny as the both of you got ready for your appearance on The Ellen Show to promote your new movie Pirates of the Carribean on Stranger Tides. You were heavily pregnant with twins, and the last thing you wanted to do was a televised interview; you’d rather be in your bed with a giant bowl of ice cream watching reruns of Frasier, but you had a contractual obligation, so here you are. Thankfully this was your last stop before being put on bedrest, but you were so ready to just sit and do nothing while wearing nothing but Johnny’s t-shirts while he promoted the movie overseas. “Five minutes until show time!” the nearby stage manager warned you. Johnny helped you up from the makeup chair and put a hand on your stomach.

“Ready darlin’?” This would be your first appearance in the media in months, and no one besides your friends and some family members knew you were pregnant, not even the faintest trace of a pregnancy rumor in the industry about you, and according to your assistant and manager, your fan accounts were thirsty for new content of you and Johnny, so this would be a nice treat for them. “More than ready. They probably think I’m dying or something.” The two of you got in place with Johnny holding your hand and two people running a lint roller up and down your clothes. “And here to promote their new movie, Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides, Johnny Depp and Y/N L/N!” 

You walked out holding hands and waving to the audience who screamed even louder than you thought possible when they realized you’re actually pregnant, and walked towards the couch. The applause died down after almost two minutes once you sat down with Ellen just grinning at you and she leaned over towards you, crossing her legs. “Well, it looks like you two have been busy lately,” she said, and the audience laughed. “Yeah, you could say that,” laughed Johnny, and rubbed your leg. “So uh… when did this happen?” 

“We were in London filming, then one day while we were shooting a scene, I passed out on set so Rob sent me home until I felt better, so I decided to take a pregnancy test just to be sure, and here we are.” The audience awed as you grabbed hands and stared into each other’s eyes. “You have two other kids, how did they react to the pregnancy?” You looked at Johnny and he answered, “they took it really well, Lilah-Rae is already an amazing big sister, and Jack is excited to be a big brother.” “Was there any reason why you kept this a secret? Was it hard to hide it?” 

“It wasn’t that hard since we don’t live in LA, but my last two pregnancies were very public, and sometimes dangerous. Being pregnant and having your body and appearance picked apart in the media and online isn’t fun, so when we found out I was pregnant, we decided to just keep it to our family and close friends.” This time, your pregnancy was smooth sailing and enjoyable; your mother, Betty Sue, and your sisters-in-law coordinated with your friends and threw you a baby shower, you and Johnny turned one of the spare rooms into a nursery, and your overnight bag was packed for when you went into labor. Your dad, and older brother and sister couldn’t sell stories about you to the media, but you have no doubt that they’ll try. You didn’t tell Ellen that you were expecting twins, wanting to keep that to yourselves, so the topic turned to the movie. “So what made you decide to want to work together? How did that come about?” 

You told the story about how Rob Marshall wanted you for the role since you worked with him two years ago and you accepted it without even reading the script. “Was it difficult to be away from the kids?” “It’s always difficult to be away from the kids, usually Y/N and I will trade off, or we’ll both take time off for a bit to stay with them, but since filming started in the summer, we were able to take them with us until they went back to school, so Y/N’s mom watched them while we were gone.” Way before you were even approached about OST, your mom had moved in after breaking up with her boyfriend, so it was the perfect opportunity. “Do you like living with your mother-in-law?”

As much as Johnny loved your mom, she could be a bit of a handful, and at times annoying; she had a habit of walking in on you two… doing adult things without knocking. As a matter of fact, she always walked in on you. “It’s not that bad, Lilah-Rae and Jack love having one of their grandmas in the same time zone.” You talked more about the movie and Ellen told more jokes before your segment was up and she had to introduce the musical guest. “Be sure to see Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides, in theaters this weekend! When we come back, Selena Gomez and the Scene!”

[lostinfic]

Nubivagant 1/3

(adj.) wandering through or amongst the clouds; moving through air; from the Latin nubes (“cloud”) and vagant (“wandering”), c. 1656.

Summary: Based on the movie “A walk in the clouds” but on a sheep farm in the north of England, at Christmas. During the war, Betty ran away from her grandfather’s farm with a man. Now that he’s left her and she might be pregnant, Betty must go back and face the family she abandoned. When Colonel Mercier finds her crying at the train station, he offers to pose as her husband. Tags: Hurt/comfort! fake married! sharing a bed! huddling for warmth! and many more! Pairing: Jean-François Mercier x Betty Vates (Spies of Warsaw / A Passionate Woman) *You don’t need to have seen either show. Word count: 5500 Rating: Mature Warning: pregnancy scare

A/N: thank you to @invisiblerobotgirl for the little brainstorm and her enthusiasm. For @timepetalsprompts adoption drive

Ao3

December 22nd, 1945

Jean-François bowed his head against the wind and hiked his duffel bag higher up his shoulder. It contained all his possessions, four years in England crammed in khaki canvas.

The breeze kicked off his hat, he turned on his heels to catch it and collided with a young woman. Her suitcase fell open on the tarmac, and he dropped his bag and papers. “I’m so sorry, miss.”

They bent down at the same time and knocked their heads together. He caught her before she fell and she threw up on his jacket. The young woman visibly blanched, and her eyes widened in horror. “Oh, God, no, please, no.” Tears spilled from her eyes as she rubbed her handkerchief over the stain.

“Porridge?” he asked. She didn’t laugh, she cried harder, her hands shook. “I can clean it up. Don’t worry,” he reassured her.

“Oh, no, no, no, it can’t be.”

Her reaction seemed disproportionate given most of it had landed on the ground beside him, and he began to worry. He took her by the shoulders. “Miss Vates.” For the first time, she actually looked at him. Her doe eyes were puffy from crying, and he suspected it had begun before their collision. “I’m Jean-François Mercier, I worked with F-section.”

“I know... I didn’t think you knew me name.”

During the war, they’d worked for the same organisation but in different offices, she as a clerk for the Poland section, and he for the French section as an operations officer. He’d seen her several times, especially in the last two months-- following the end of the war, many employees had transferred to Wanborough Manor, in Surrey, to close and file everything away permanently. They had never exchanged more than a few work-related words.

“Are you all right?” She wiped her eyes with her gloved fingers and nodded. “Are you sure?” he insisted.

“Oh bugger, me suitcase.”

He helped her pick up her stuff and his. “Are you going home too?” he asked to make conversation as he pretended not to see her underwear. The mention of home brought on a new wave of tears that all her lip biting could not hold off.

A whistle announced the train for London. He was momentarily distracted, and she took that opportunity to escape his presence and questions. He watched her vanish into a great cloud of steam.

Everyone in the small Surrey train station were their coworkers, going home now that the organisation had closed for good with the end of the war. He hoped miss Vates had friends amongst them. Perhaps it’s parting from them that made her so sad.

On board the train, he made a beeline for the lavatory to clean the vomit off his jacket.

When he walked out through the coach for a place to sit, he saw miss Vates again. Two young men were talking to her. “Give us a smile, eh,” said the one beside her. She turned her face away from them, but they didn’t stop.

“Be a doll, two bonnie lads like us, we fought the Nazis, I reckon we deserve a little lovin’.” He put his arm around miss Vates’ shoulders. She leaned away, elbows pressed into her sides, shoulders tense.

“I’m not interested.”

“Had a girl like that, always used to say she weren’t interested. She never meant it, did she?” His friend agreed with a roguish laugh.

“Leave the lady alone,” Mercier ordered.

“Or what?” Both boys stood up, full of the bravado characteristic of their age. Mercier didn’t engage with them. He simply stared with an air of condescending tolerance, the kind of look he might give annoying insects he could squash with his fist.

“Hey, Frenchie, we freed your country, we did. You should be thankin’ us.”

“Yeah. We get first dib on the lassies.”

Mercier clenched his jaw, jutted out his chin and flexed his fingers. He stepped closer to them, and they stepped back, recognizing the anger of a superior officer. The train jerked, and the two boys lost balance. “Leave. Her. Alone,” Mercier repeated, walking over them.

They walked away to find seats in another carriage. Miss Vates nodded and offered a small smile, but nothing more. Whatever was troubling her, she didn’t want company, so Mercier sat a few seats behind.

He’d bought a book for the long journey back to France. A detective novel with a suggestive cover that should hold his interest all the way to Paris, and yet he zoned out every other paragraph. He kept crossing and uncrossing his legs, his palms were damp. Whenever his thoughts drifted to his home country, he felt a tightening in his chest, from anticipation or anxiety, he couldn’t tell. Restless, he got up to pace the central alley. Miss Vates looked up from her knitting, but averted her eyes as soon as he saw her.

*

White winter light streamed through the dirty arched glass ceiling of Victoria station, shining on the chaotic crowd of soldiers returning home and families travelling for the holidays. The chatter and laughter, the whistles and the metallic wail of trains made Betty dizzy. She hurried to catch a newly-vacated place on a bench. She took deep breaths to ward off another wave nausea. She closed her eyes and focused on the violin notes played by a busker, but his somber rendition of “I’ll be home for Christmas” brought fresh tears to her eyes.

Betty stared at the ticket in her hands: One-way, to Paris. Colonel Mercier must have dropped it when they ran into each other. She should find him and give it back to him, but she couldn’t help thinking it might be a sign. A sign that she shouldn’t go back to her family.

She imagined starting a new life in Paris, a small flat with a view of the Eiffel tower from her kitchen window, a cat on the windowsill, the scent of warm bread wafting up from the bakery below. She would choose a new name for herself, something optimistic like Daisy or Hope. Who would know after the war? They couldn’t possibly keep track of everyone. And she imagined a little girl, playing in the living room, making her dolls speak French and English.

But it wouldn’t be like that.

She would have the same problems in Paris as she had in London: no friends, no home, no job. And maybe a baby.

“Miss Vates.” Colonel Mercier stood before her. She noticed the stain on the tan tweed of his jacket before the steaming tea he was holding out for her.

“Thank you.” She warmed her gloved hands on the paper cup.

“If you don’t mind me saying, you look like you could use a “cuppa”— as you Brits say.” She smiled weakly and drank. “If you are sad about losing your ticket, I can fix that for you.”

“Were it that simple,” she sighed, looking at the ticket but not taking it. “I have yours too… Paris. Must be nice.”

He shrugged and sat down beside her. “Where is… Tebay?” he asked, reading the town’s name on her ticket.

“In county Cumbria, north of the Yorkshire Dales.” He nodded, but she could tell he didn’t know where any of those places were.

“And your family lives there?”

“Yeah. Me grandad, he has farm there, and the whole family on me mam’s side, we moved there during the war. Safer, you know…” She didn’t even know if they were still there. Her mother and sister might have gone back to Leeds, her aunts and cousins too. Her grandparents would be there for sure, unless, heaven forbid, something had happened to them.

“I hope seeing your family again, on Christmas no less, will make you smile,” Colonel Mercier said, obviously trying to cheer her up.

Betty curled her shoulders forward, her stomach rolled. She had no idea why he was being nice to her, or what he wanted from her, for that matter, but she didn’t want to burden him with her problems. “Yeah, sure… Go. You’ll miss your train. Thanks for the tea.”

He hesitated, brow furrowed in concern. “I apologize if I overstep my boundaries, miss Vates, but I cannot leave you like this… Do you need help?”

Betty had never told anyone the whole story, kept it bottled up inside her chest, putting on a smile at work when inside she wrestled with despair, alone with her dark thoughts and pain. For the first time, she really looked at Colonel Mercier, his eyes were a beautiful clear brown in the light, and she found genuine concern in them. Her barriers crumbled. “I don’t have anywhere else to go, but he’ll kill me.”

“Kill you? Who?” He was on high alert.

“Grandpa Marshall. Oh, God. I ran away and now I might be pregnant, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Through tears and sniffles, Betty told him a somewhat confusing summary of her situation.

In the September of ‘43, she’d found a man hiding in an abandoned shed on her grandfather’s farm. A Polish man named Alex Crazenovski— nicknamed Craze. “With a nickname like that you’d think I’d’ve stayed away.” Craze said he’d escaped from his country and was hiding from the Gestapo, he begged her to keep his secret. He was so charming, she never doubted his words.

All through Autumn, she visited him every day. She brought him food and clothes, anything he needed to be more comfortable. And they made love in the forest. It was the most exciting time of her life. It took her mind off her father’s death and her mother’s declining mental health, off the war and the bleak future.

But her grandfather found out. The food Betty had stolen to feed Craze was supposed to go to the government, all part of the obligatory war effort. He got in trouble with the agents of the Ministry of Agriculture for it. She would later find out Craze had also stolen from her grandfather. She begged her grandfather to give Craze a chance, but he refused and threatened to deliver him to the authorities.

“Craze asked me with to run away with him. Said he knew people in London. That he’d marry me.” She shook her head at her own foolishness. She was so besotted with him, and craved more than the life she had.

Craze never did make an honest woman out of her. He wanted to wait until the end of the war and marry her in Poland with all his family. “They will be your family too,” he’d say, implying she didn’t have one anymore.

“You haven’t spoken to your family since then?” Colonel Mercier asked, offering her his handkerchief.

“Not at first. I was too ashamed. I abandoned them, betrayed them. They needed me on the farm… The longer I waited, the more scared I was to see them again, you know. But last Christmas, I decided to be brave, and wrote them a letter…”

“And?”

“Nothing. I never received a reply. They had me address and everythin’, we didn’t move. They disowned me.”

Craze’s acquaintances in London gave Betty a job, doing all sorts of office work. Craze said he worked too, but he rarely brought money home. “I stopped asking questions, it upset him. I know that were stupid, and you must think I’m the most gullible girl in the world, but I swear when he talked to me, it all made sense. And he loved me. He did. I think. I’m pretty sure.”

They lived together for almost two years, in a small rented room, through bombings and war threats. Every time she was scared or sad or angry, he had a way of making her forget all about it. She simply couldn’t resist him.

“The war ended, and he said he was going back to Poland. That was in October. He said he had money there, that he’d come back with it, that we’d buy a house. Whilst he was gone, my boss sent me to Surrey. I sold what we had. I didn’t hear from Craze so I asked a Polish officer who knew him…” Betty let out a shaky breath. “The look in his eyes, the pity. He knew, they all knew, his friends, all along, that he had a wife.”

“In Poland?”

“In Norfolk! He left me, and he’d have left me wondering all me life what happened to him.”

“That’s awful.”

Around the same time, she started worrying she was pregnant. She missed two periods, but it had happened before. The nausea this morning, though, was another nail in the coffin.

The only friends she had in London were Polish, most of them had already left for their home country. And she didn’t want anything to do with those who had watched her be deceived without a word. Her only option was her family. Her grandfather was the kind of man who held grudges, and her mother had never made any secret she preferred her other daughter. Her sister would hate her for leaving her alone to take care of their mother. And Betty had to face them, with a baby out of wedlocks on top of it.

“I mucked up so bad.”

Colonel Mercier tentatively put an arm behind her shoulders, on the back of the bench, but she resisted crying on his shoulder. She tried to control her sobs, she was getting weird looks from people in the train station, and she’d already said too much.

“It’s his fault, not yours,” he said.

“No, I’m a stupid, gormless girl. Mam always said so.”

Colonel Mercier looked up at the ceiling, skewed his jaw, didn’t say anything. Betty didn’t disrupt his thoughts. After a long moment, he asked, “What if you were married?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “How d’you mean?”

He exposed his idea as he would a military strategy: he would accompany her to Tebay and introduce himself as her husband. That way it would seem like she had lived in London as an honest woman, and that she’d been right to trust him. He would spend the day with her family, and hopefully charm them and make them think he wasn’t the scoundrel they imagined. And the next morning, he would take off before dawn, leaving only a letter behind. “We can work out the details later. Your family will take pity on you and, the holiday season helping, welcome you back with open arms.”

“Why would you help me? Me, a ruined woman.”

“Would you believe me if I said it was the spirit of Christmas?”

“I’m not that stupid.”

“No, I didn’t think so. It seems to me you are a victim—” she frowned at the word— “and I cannot stand the thought of you being hurt even more. I hate that he took advantage of your kindness. I can’t blame you for following your heart.”

“I’m not that kind of girl, Colonel! Don’t think being nice to me will get you in me knickers. I’ve learned me lesson.”

He held up in hands. “I promise I will stay out of your knickers.”

She found no trace of dishonesty in his face, but then again, experience had thought her she was a bad judge of character.

He rummaged around his duffel bag and pulled out a tiny fabric pouch. “This should help.” He tipped it over and two golden bands fell in his palms.

“What are you doin’ carrying wedding rings around?”

“I was married. My wife passed away.”

“During the war?”

“No, before. Consumption.”

“I can’t wear that.” He fingered the rings, hesitating. Even his pragmatic spirit wavered in front of this meaningful memento. Betty’s wariness gave way to sympathy. “What about the one on your pinkie?” He took it off, and she studied the symbol stamped in gold. “What’s it for?”

“A ring of nobility.” He seemed almost uncomfortable admitting it, but it must be important to him if he still wore it.

“You’re nobility?”

“Just a lowly chevalier.”

A knight. How perfect. She was starting to think he really did just want to help her.

“Can you do that, though? Pretend to be me husband and lie to everyone?”

“It would not be my first time. Never in this kind of situation, but I have done some undercover work.”

“You a spy?”

“Not in England!” he reassured her quickly. “But as a military attaché I was part of several covert missions. I spied on the Germans when I was in Warsaw.”

She pursed her lips, inspected his appearance. Beside the hair colour and height and maybe something in the sharpness of his nose, he looked nothing like Craze— a good thing in her opinion— he was much leaner and the way he held himself betrayed his rank. He didn’t look like someone who could get his hands dirty. Her family only saw Craze once and that was two years ago, it might just work out. Most of all, she was desperate for a solution, and having someone by her side to face her family eased her fears.

“Okay. Be me pretend-husband.”

He slid his signet ring on her finger. She admired her hand for a moment, feeling oddly pleased.

“I barely know you, how are we ever going to look like we’re in love?” she asked.

“We have a whole train ride to figure that out, don’t we?”

*

Mercier climbed on board the red locomotive, still shocked by his own plan.

“Me name’s Elizabeth, by the way. Everyone calls me Betty. What’s your name?”

“Jean-François.”

“Jean-François,” she repeated carefully, looking at him for approval. “I’ll need to practice.”

As the train covered the first miles of a 285-mile northbound journey, they learned about each other, starting with the basics: age (26 and 37), family members (both had a sister, her father died at Dunkirk, and his own during the Great war), and favourite food (her grandmother’s lamb stew, and strawberry sorbet from Le Procope, Paris’ oldest café).

They compared war stories. Although they lived on different sides of London, they’d taken refuge in the same bomb shelters and visited the same public library near Baker street. They’d both seen the latest Humphrey Bogart movie. “We went on a date. I took you dancing afterwards,” Mercier suggested.

“I wore me red dress.”

He asked her to recount her time with Craze on her grandfather’s farm, specifically the part where they were found out. Her family knew he was Polish, but, thanks to his assignment in Warsaw, Mercier could pretend to have both nationalities. For the first time in ages, he remembered Anna Szarbek, Parisian by birth but living in Poland. A transient thought, he’d made peace with the fact that Max had successfully come between them.

Based on his work experience, he easily invented a plausible story as to how he’d ended up hiding in Yorkshire— a story in which he appeared to be a hero. “We can’t have you marry a coward,” he reasoned.

Betty shared her snack with him, her stomach too knotted for more than two bites of carrot scone.

The rest of their made-up life together was pretty much the same as what had really happened to her. Except, he had an honourable job and married her right away. They decided it was best if she waited to tell them about the pregnancy.

Together they wrote the letter he would leave behind. “Make it sound like…” Betty bit her thumb nail. “Like he loved me. Like I can be loved. I don’t want them to think it was just… physical.”

“Of course, maybe I— he thought his wife had died, in Poland, at the beginning of the war.”

“Okay, and found out she’d survived?”

“He loves you but has to go back to her,” Mercier added.

“Yeah, and you bring me back to me family, so I won’t be left alone.”

“Exactly.”

Night arrived early this time of year, and the dark pink hues of a winter sunset already filled the train car. Betty watched closely as he wrote, her chest pressed into his upper arm, her perfume wafted to his nose, something cheap and floral, too innocent for a heartbroken woman.

“Could you do that to someone?” she asked in a soft, distant voice. “If you discovered your wife was still alive.”

“I don’t know. She passed away eight years ago, and I have not loved another woman as much since.”

“I don’t know if that’s sad or beautiful.”

She tucked her chin in her shoulder, her eyelashes cast feathery shadows on her pale cheeks. And something about the nearness of her, about her own confession, made him admit, “it’s lonely.”

“D’you think, maybe, what we’re writing is what really happened?”

Mercier doubted Crazenovski’s behaviour was anything other than self-serving, he would most likely cheat again, but Betty needed to entertain some romantic notion of him, so he conceded it could be the case.

They spent the next hours in pensive silence. Mercier rehearsed his role, so to speak. Betty dozed off, but slept fretfully. She would seem peaceful for a while, but then her lips would pinch and her forehead pucker.

When they reached Lancaster, Betty talked to him again. “Every summer, I took this train to go to me Gramps’ farm. I always got so excited seeing these mountains, knowing I was almost there. He’d wait for me at the station and hug me tight, called me his lil’ chicken. And me grandma… I swear, I waited all year for this moment.”

“We have that in common.”

“How d’you mean?”

“My father sent me to boarding school, and I couldn’t wait to go back to our estate for the summer. Ride my horse, swim in the lake, run in the fields all day with my sister… I love living in the city now, but it was a nice respite.”

“Was?”

He inhaled sharply and spoke before releasing his breath. “It was destroyed during the war. Alsace shares a border with Germany, so…” He didn’t tell her the whole town was ran over by tanks and every villager sent to his death. He wasn’t ready to talk about it. Betty stroke his arm with a sympathetic smile.

As they stepped onto the train platform, in Tebay, Betty said, “I’m afraid we’ll have to walk to the farm”.

“Betty? Oh, my goodness, lil’ Betty Vates, as I live and breathe, it’s you!”

“Mrs. Jeffrey, hi! She’s Gramps’ neighbour,” Betty explained.

“You’re alive!” Mrs. Jeffrey cried out.

“I think so.”

“Your poor grandfather, he said you’d died in a bombing. Oh, it’s a Christmas miracle! Do you have a ride? Let me take you. Albert’s in the truck.” Mercier picked up their suitcases, and Mrs. Jeffrey noticed him for the first time. “And who’s this?”

“He’s… he’s me husband. Col— Jean-François Mercier.”

“Well done, Betty.” She winked.

They followed Mrs. Jeffrey outside the station.

The town square clock chimed five times. A half-moon made the frost sparkle in the dark. Wisps of chimney smoke wrapped around lamp posts and, for the first time since 1940, Christmas lights twinkled in windows, unhindered by blackout curtains.

They squeezed themselves in the back of the truck. “He’s telling people I’m dead,” Betty whispered to him. He took her hand, and she held it, a vice-like grip, the whole ride through.

They disembarked in front of a gate, a long path between ash trees stretched to a farmhouse, its whitewashed walls bright in the night. A dog, twice the size of Mercier’s pointers with its shaggy white and grey coat, ran up to them, barking. “Hercules!” Betty sat on her hunches as it sniffed around them, tail wagging, tongue dripping.

Like a good shepherd dog rounding up its herd, Hercules pushed Betty and Mercier towards the house. Its bark announced their presence, and an old man came out, holding up a hunting rifle. “Who’s there?”

“Hello Gramps.”

“Betty!” A small woman appeared behind the man and pushed past him to embrace Betty. “Where were you, girl? We were worried sick!”

“It’s a long story, Marnie.”

The old woman looked at Mercier. “Is this…?”

“Yes. We’re married,” Betty said.

“Oh, bloody hell,” muttered her grandfather before turning back inside the house.

“Oh, don’t mind the old grouch. I’m Mrs. Marshall, everyone calls me Marnie.”

“Betty has told me a lot about you, what a pleasure to meet you Marnie,” Mercier said, kissing the back of her knobbly hand. Betty smiled at him.

“Jolly nice to meet you, young man.” She pinched Betty’s cheek. “Didn’t he feed you properly?”

“No one has, what with rationing.”

“We managed here.”

“Oh, Marnie, I missed your food.”

“Good, tea’s almost ready.” The women hugged each other again, both tearing up.

Inside the old farmhouse, the air was heavy with the scent of fir tree and wet wool, from the socks and union suits drying in the scullery.

The whole family gathered in the living room. Betty’s grandparents, mother, sister and brother-in-law. They stood in a half-circle, their gaze flickered between the newcomers, on the couch, and the patriarch. Mr. Marshall was a stocky man, all strength, with sunburnt skin even in winter.

Mercier was dying to say something, but followed Betty’s lead.

Mr. Marshall finally broke the silence, “Married?!”

“I—”

“To this… this…” He shook a finger at Mercier, but with his straight back, sharp suit and perfect hair, he found nothing to say. “Who is this?”

“Colonel Jean-François Mercier.” He stood up, his hair brushed the ceiling beams. Mr. Marshall refused to shake the proffered hand.

“A bloody French? For God’s sake.”

Now that they’d heard his verdict, the other family members spoke all over the other, asking more questions than could possibly be answered. Marnie shushed them. “Tell us what happened, Betty.”

Betty took a deep breath and began telling the story they’d rehearsed in the train. “I sent you a letter,” she said, “but I never got a reply.”

“We didn’t receive any letter,” Margaret, her sister, said. The others all agreed vehemently.

“So, you’re not angry with me?” Betty asked.

“Yes, we are angry with you, Mrs. Mercier,” the grandfather replied. “Me own granddaughter, getting married to a stranger. What d’you have to go to London for?”

And the barrage of questions and judgements began anew.

Betty wasn’t the best liar, and nerves made her stutter, so Mercier took over telling the rest of the story they’d made up. “My deepest apologies, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall, and Mrs. Vates, for the way I behaved back then. I was scared and in danger. But I truly love your daughter.” He placed a hand on her knee, and she startled lightly at the contact.

Mr. Marshall squinted at them, his bushy grey eyebrows brushing behind the lenses of his glasses. “Umpf.”

Supper was a tense affair. And he’d been in tense situations before. A conference with England and Russia in ‘39 came to mind. But this was a whole other kind of tension. He complimented the women on the meal, but only received curt thanks in return.

Betty barely touched her plate, her hands shook whenever she picked up her utensils. He admired her valiant efforts to encourage conversation despite the hostility in the air. Two years without seeing them, they had a lot of catching up to do. He flinched every time their answers came with passive-aggressive comments on Betty’s absence and all the hard work she hadn’t had to do. He made a point to chime in with flattering anecdotes about her. “Are you sure it’s our Betty you’re talking about?” her sister asked.

Because both he and Betty had signed the Official Secrets Act for their job, they couldn’t explain what they really did. Jean-François said he collaborated with de Gaulle which wasn’t far from the truth. Eric, the brother-in-law, who had only recently been demobed, scoffed. “You spent the war behind a desk, but I was shooting the Nazis meself, like a man.” He exposed shrapnel scars on his arm to prove his point.

Mercier clenched his jaw. This idea was proving more painful then he’d anticipated. He swallowed his pride and agreed with Eric, hopefully taking the heat off Betty. Mercier wasn’t the type to brag, but he had some go-to spying anecdotes to delight an audience when forced to, and they helped rectify his military credibility.

The Marshalls particularly enjoyed the one about smuggling out the entire Polish National bullion reserve before the Nazis could get their hands on it. “Forty cases of gold, ten ingots in each case, hidden under the floorboards and the seats. We’re heading for the Romanian border. Suddenly the train stops.”

“Why? What happened?” Betty asked, engrossed in his story.

“Don’t you know?” her sister said.

Mercier recovered smoothly. “I don’t think I ever told Betty that story. I couldn’t, not before the Polish got their gold back. State secret, you understand.”

“And what other secrets are you hiding from her and us?” Mr. Marshall said. He stood up from the table, moving his chair and picking up his dishes as loudly as he could.

“Never mind him, what happened next?” Eric asked.

By the end of the evening, some of the tension had dissipated. There attitude towards Betty-- except for Marnie-- was still far from warm. He wished she’d stand up for herself more, but she looked like she believed she deserved it all. It wasn’t his place to judge.

Marnie helped by bringing out a bottle of whiskey she’d hidden before the war, keeping it for a special occasion. “Me granddaughter’s wedding, that’s special enough, I reckon.” She put on a Bing Crosby record. “C’mon young ‘uns, time for a little jitterbuggin’.” She pulled on her husband’s arm until he gave up and stood up to dance with her. Margaret and Eric, paired up too.

Jean-François and Betty’s gazes met across the room. Well, it would seem strange if they didn’t dance. Their fingers entwined, his hand slid over her waist. Betty, who’d drank whiskey on an empty stomach, giggled nervously. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright. “Our first dance,” he joked. For the first time since this morning, she smiled, a real smile, wide and bright, and there was a flutter in his chest he hadn’t felt in ages. She rested her cheek on his shoulder, and, for a moment, they didn’t have to pretend.

At the end of the night, Marnie dumped bed sheets and blankets in Betty’s arms, “You can take the blue room.” Mercier walked with her to the attic, carrying an oil lamp as that part of the house didn’t have electricity yet.

The blue room, they realized, had only one bed, and not a big one at that.

“I will sleep on the floor. It’s only for one night.”

He turned his back so she could change into her nightgown. He stared at the faded blue hydrangeas on the wallpaper and at the image of the Virgin Mary above the bed. He heard Betty’s dress fall to the floor, the click of garter and bra being unhooked, the stockings brushing down her legs, and despite himself, he saw it all in his mind’s eye.

Jean-François folded his clothes beside the makeshift bed, ready to put on and sneak out as early as possible the next morning. He placed the letter on the bedside table. As he planned his exit, guilt flickered in his chest. Craze betrayed her, not you, he reminded himself.

Betty lowered the flame of the lamp, and both laid in silence. Through the floorboards, came the hushed argument between Marnie and her husband.

“Are you okay?” Mercier asked.

She sighed. “At least they didn’t kick me out. It’ll be fine, I think… Thank you again. I’m sorry they were so awful to you. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.” And then, softly, “Don’t know if I’ll ever see you again.”

He wanted to reassure her, but could he? Did she even want to see him again? Before he could reply, the stairs creaked. “Someone’s comin’ up.” Mercier jumped to his feet, kicked his blankets under the bed and slipped under the covers next to Betty. She pulled his arm around her shoulders.

Good thing he moved fast, because the door opened right after the knock, without awaiting an answer. Mr. Marshall didn’t cross the threshold and kept his hands in his pockets. He cleared his throat. “Alright?”

“Yeah, we’re fine Gramps, thanks.”

“Alright, good night, then.” He turned back as fast as he had come in, leaving the door ajar. “Don’t forget your prayers!” he shouted from the corridor.

“What was that about?” Mercier whispered.

“That was me grandma sending him. I bet she threatened to not serve her special mince pies on Christmas.”

Mercier became aware of their legs touching under the covers, of her rib cage, expanding with each breath, of her hair tickling his chin. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d shared a bed with a woman without making love to her. With his wife maybe. Melancholy pinched his heart, and he longed for that simple pleasure. She glanced shyly at him, biting her bottom lip.

“Do you think he might come back?” he asked Betty.

“Maybe… I’ll lock the door.”

“Okay. Then I suppose I should…”

“Yeah… ”

Another beat passed and they didn’t move. Their one and only night together, what if they were to make the most of it? He was confident he could make her feel better.

“Anyways.” She laughed nervously and left the bed to latch the door. She looked at him, still in her bed. “S’not too hard, is it? The floor,” she asked.

That was his cue to return to his makeshift bed. “No. Better than a Morrison shelter, at least.”

She turned off the lamp completely and mumbled a prayer. The old bed squeaked as she tossed and turned.

“Elizabeth? Will you be all right after I leave?”

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

Part 2